Monster
by CraftyK13
Summary: "You're a monster, Harry," I whispered. He clenched his jaw and started to move away from me. I brought a hand up to his face to stop him. "But I am too." HarryxFelicia. ASM Universe. Mature for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Monster: noun | mon-ster

A strange or horrible imaginary creature

Something that is extremely or unusually large

 **A powerful person or thing that cannot be controlled and that causes many problems**

Part I

Glass shatters so exquisitely. It always seems to fall in slow motion, the bottom of the object making contact with the floor first, then the rest surface splintering until there is nothing left, scattering into a hazardous tableau. I love the way the light refracts off the shards, seemingly harmless, and knowing that they can cut deeper than any knife. As I gazed at the array of broken glass, I couldn't help but smile.

I stepped on the tiny pieces, thoroughly enjoying the crunching beneath my boots. It would have been too easy to catch the decanter before it smashed into the mahogany floors, but where's the fun in that?

I could hear the security team thundering up the stairs, rolled my eyes, and moved away from the door. The wall of glass before me displayed a stunning view of New York City, the skyline lighting up the room with yellows, blues, and reds from the not-too-distant Times Square. It's easy to forget that you live in such a shit world when it can look like that.

It was always a mystery to me how the lights worked. I used to think that faeries flew around together in a ballet to create the mystical sight. My father discouraged my fantasies, saying that only idiots believed that kind of stuff. I, only wanting to please the bastard, immediately ceased to believe in anything fantastical.

I gave a mirthless chuckle, turning away from the window and instead casting my gaze on the desk before me. It seemed to proudly display various tokens of wealth, an obvious projection of its owner's deep, unsettled feelings of inadequacy. Sitting in the fine leather chair, I plugged my jump drive into the laptop. I searched the hard-drive for the files I was looking for and was halted by a security message. After hacking my way through the weakest firewall I'd seen in a while, I dragged the files onto my jump drive and waited for them to download.

Security had finally managed to escape my traps in the hallway and was taking a battering ram against the double doors. My files were 67% downloaded and quickly gathering speed. I was the epitome of relaxed as the members of the private security crashed through the doors, as my feet were up on the desk, my hands behind my head, and a smirk playing on the corners of my lips.

"Put your hands up and slowly rise from the desk," one of the guards demanded, pointing a gun at my chest.

"Who, little old me?" I asked, feigning offense. The guard said nothing, but gestured for me to rise with his gun. "All right, all right, you win," I said, putting my hands up in surrender. I glanced down at the computer screen, seeing a notification saying my download was complete. Stepping forward, I approached the leader of the team until the barrel of his gun was resting above my heart. I shivered from the cool metal against my skin. The guard motioned for another to come forward. He began to roughly frisk me, his hands wandering the length of my body.

"You're not going to find anything," I informed him. "Unfortunately this suit doesn't have any pockets, which means no surprises for you," I added cheekily. Hands roughly squeezed my behind and I froze.

"What I would give to slam my cock in and out of your ass," said the frisker. I clenched my teeth and kept my eyes ahead. Memories of freshman year came rushing back to me. I could see _his_ hands on my hips. _His_ eyes boring into mine as he removed my clothes. I swore that I would never let a man take advantage of me again. Not ever. "You'd be screaming my name all night long, darlin'," he said, chuckling.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath, steeling myself for my next move. Opening my eyes, I brought the heel of my foot down on the guard's toes and as he doubled over in pain, I slammed my elbow into the back of his neck. I ducked, sweeping my leg out and knocked over the guard with the gun. I brutally kicked him in the face and heard a crunch. The other two guards ran forward, guns drawn. I rushed towards them and slid between their legs. Disoriented, the stopped and then turned around. They met the iron poker in my grasp, immediately falling to the floor, clutching their faces.

Groaning, the guard with the broken nose stood up, staggering, and started towards me. I swung the poker at his knee, crippling him. I kicked his face once more, basking in the screams tearing from his throat.

I felt a gun being pressed to the side of my head and an arm wrapping around my waist. Hot breath tickled my ear.

"Nice fucking try," said the guard. He marched me over to the desk and swept everything off it with a loud crash. Grasping the back of my neck, he roughly bent me over the wood surface, the gun pinning me in place. "Now you'll learn what happens to sluts who disrespect me," he panted in my ear. One of his hands snaked around my body and felt around for a zipper. I desperately looked for something, anything to aid me in my escape. Something about six inches in front of me glinted in the light.

I inched my hand forward until my fingers wrapped around the cool steel of the letter opener. I could hear the guard's frustrated muttering, unable to find a zipper. I chuckled.

"Nice fucking try," I mimicked, stabbing the guard in the thigh with the letter opener. A shocked yelp escaped his lips and I turned to him, eyebrow raised. "Oh, does that hurt?" I asked innocently.

"You bitch!" He punched me in the jaw, causing my head to whip to the right. I groaned and clutched the throbbing area, spitting out blood. Breathing heavily, I turned to him once more and brought my leg up and kicked him in the head. He sank like a stone and lay prostrate on the floor.

"Don't. Ever. Fucking. Touch. Me. Again," I said, kicking his ribs with every word. Panting, I made my way back to the desk and plucked the jump drive from the computer. I exited the room and started to head towards the stairs but then stopped, jabbing the elevator button. The doors opened with a 'bing' and I stepped inside. Leaning against the wall, I looked at the mirrored panel in front of me and pushed the 'L' button.

My eyes wandered across my reflection, noting the swelling on my jaw. _That's gonna be a bitch to cover up in the morning._ I closed my eyes. Sometimes, it's hard being me.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Everyone carries around his own monsters" -_ _Richard_ _Pryor_

* * *

The following day, I woke with a jolt, gasping for breath. The sun was peeking into my bedroom through the blinds, casting eerie shadows on the walls. I grabbed the knife I kept under my pillow and silently crept around my room, checking the back of my door and under my bed for any sign of _him_. My heart was beating fast and my breathing was erratic as I searched the entire apartment, fear coursing through my veins.

When my search came up empty, as it always did, I bolted into the bathroom and crashed to my knees in front of the toilet, emptying my stomach of its contents. The adrenalin from my nightmare began to fade and I felt shaky and exhausted. I knew that silent tears were streaming down my cheeks and quickly brushed them away, disgusted with my weakness. Some of my father's words of wisdom came to me in that moment.

 _"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, kitten,"_ he would say after I fell down and scraped my knee or endured heartbreak from a boy. I used to adore the man, saw him as some sort of god, but after learning that he built our family fortune on stolen goods, I no longer admired him. The pedestal on which he had once stood came crumbling down along with the family image. The government took our money away, all of our nice were things sold at auction, and my father was thrown into a cell where he was to remain for the rest of his days. My mother died from grief, or so the public was told. After dear old Walter was put in prison, she developed a nasty drug habit and eventually OD'd.

Why do I now make a living by stealing things? Well, it's the only thing I'm good at. I can't do anything remotely useful to keep a 9-5 job, so I seek out clients who wish for things they can't legally obtain otherwise. As a child, I was trained in ballet, gymnastics, acrobatics, and martial arts, all required by my mother. My father demanded that I be taught a more _specialized_ skill set. In a matter of years, I could quickly hotwire cars, pick locks, and crack safes that eluded even the most skilled professionals.

By the time I started high school, I could complete a heist with the loot in hand after just a few hours, escaping the best security teams. Then, my mother suddenly realized that I was of a proper age to be courted, so she forced me to take etiquette classes and made me join the cheer squad at school. I was quickly elevated to cheer captain and could not quit, no matter how much I protested. The only good thing to come out of cheerleading was Vic, my best friend.

Because she was one of the heirs to the Carter fortune, Vic was put into the same finishing classes as me and we immediately bonded over making fun of our instructor, Madame Delacroix. We would giggle about Madame's warts and crooked nose from behind our _Miss Manners_ books, always getting caught and receiving a slap on the wrist from her wooden ruler.

A movement from the doorway caught my attention and I jumped, only to realize what had startled me was none other than my cat. He looked up at me innocently, knowing full well that I hated when he did that to me.

"Yeah, well fuck you too, Shadow," I croaked, rubbing my eyes. After flushing the toilet, I hobbled over to the sink and brushed my teeth. Shadow rubbed his side against my ankle, his way of saying that he was hungry. I spat out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth with the tepid water from the faucet. I looked up and was dismayed to see my haggard reflection in the mirror.

My eyes were drawn to the dark purple blotch on my jaw, the area swollen and painful to touch. The circles underneath my eyes were almost the same color and the only evidence of my nightly terrors. Usually bottle green, my eyes were bloodshot, watery, and puffy from crying. The hair on my head resembled a haystack, the platinum blonde pieces sticking up in random places.

Shadow's rubbing quickly turned into clawing, drawing my attention away from the monster in the mirror.

"Will you wait one damn minute?" Shadow cast his blue eyes towards mine in contempt and pawed at me deliberately. "Fine!" I plucked him up off the floor and stormed into the kitchen and dropped him on the counter next to his bowl of food, which I hastily filled. He licked my hand and began to eat. I shook my head and began to make coffee.

Soon, the entire apartment smelled of the delicious French roast, one of the only things I allowed myself to splurge on. While the coffee was brewing, I threw on my robe and went downstairs to get the paper, Shadow hot on my heels. Once in the lobby, I opened the front door for Shadow so he could go explore while I sorted through my mail. _Junk, junk, bill, junk, coupon, bill_. I threw everything but the bills away and heard Shadow meowing at me through the door. I let him back in and grabbed a copy of the paper.

" _Spiderman Fights Giant Lizard in Midtown School of Science,_ " read the headline, a picture of the spandex-covered vigilante fighting some dinosaur below it.

Heading back upstairs, I reached my door as one next to me opened.

"Good morning, Felicia or should I say good evening," said Mrs. Goodrum, an elderly lady with billions of grandkids who always seemed to be visiting whenever I tried to sleep.

"Hello," I said politely, unlocking my door.

"Oh! My dear, what happened to your face?" Mrs. Goodrum approached me and had a look of concern on her wrinkled face.

"Well, this one here," I said, pointing a toe at Shadow, "likes to push things off the shelf above my bed while I'm sleeping. Last night it was my hardback copy of the dictionary." Shadow had enough sense to look proud of himself and pranced into the apartment.

"That's awful! Be sure to put some ice on that for the swelling. You're much too beautiful to have such an ugly bruise on your face, dear." Mrs. Goodrum smiled.

"Um, thank you," I muttered and hurriedly closed the door to my apartment. Shadow was curled up on the back of the couch, watching me as I poured an ungodly amount of coffee with a sprinkling of sugar into a mug.

I sat on the couch as I drank my coffee, listening to the sounds of the city moving around me. Car horns, sirens, and people talking and occasionally yelling can be heard from any part of the city, making it near impossible to get any solid rest. Just as I finished my drink, my phone buzzed on the table.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Come to drop-off location at midnight. Make sure you bring drive or you will not receive payment," a male voice said.

"See you there." I hung up and tossed the burner on the couch. Stretching, I made my way to the shower.

I was dressed with my suit on underneath my jeans and hoodie and my mask in my pocket next to the jump-drive. I gave Shadow a good scratch behind his ears and locked the door behind me.

The subway was crowded, as it was every night, and people from all walks of life filled the car. I kept a hand in my pocket to ensure the safety of the drive, as it was going to pay for the next few month's rent and bills. I was almost out of money from my last job, only having enough for maybe one week's worth of groceries. This drive was going to earn me at least 5k, for the Russian mob always paid handsomely whenever I delivered what they sought.

I made sure to get to the drop off location half an hour early so I could get changed and pick a position to safely watch for them. Just because they paid well didn't mean they were trustworthy.

I climbed up onto the fire escape in the alley and put on my mask. The thick cat eyes accentuated my eyes and hid my face well enough so that no one would be able to tell who I was. I sat perched on the ledge for almost fifteen minutes when the black van parked in front of the alley. Five men, all dressed in suits, emerged from the van, looking around them. I silently climbed down and dropped to the ground behind a dumpster. When I was confident they still hadn't seen me, I set my shoulders back to gain an air of confidence and sauntered out from behind the dumpster.

"Good evening, gentlemen," I said, a tiny smile on my face.

"Hello, Cat," said one of the heavily accented men.

"What happened to your face? A dog attack you?" asked one of the others.

"Oh, this little bruise? You should see the dog," I replied, shrugging. The men chuckled.

"Do you have the drive?" A bald man with tattoos on his face stepped forward.

"That depends. Do you have my money?" The bald man made a gesture with his hand. One of the other men pulled an envelope out of his jacket. "Count it for me." He looked to the bald man and he nodded. The Russian began to count out the money, all one hundred dollar bills.

"…Ten thousand," he said, finishing his counting. I was shaking with excitement. Ten thousand would be more than enough to get me by for several months! I wouldn't have to do any more jobs for a while. I could rest and focus on getting rid of my nightmares.

"This drive must be important to you, then, if you're willing to pay that much money for it."

"Indeed, Cat, which is why I must ask for it now or I will be forced to take it from you." I nodded and took the drive out of my belt pouch. I held out my other hand for the envelope and the one with the envelope extended his hand for the drive. I slowly inched forward and snatched the envelope from him while he simultaneously took the drive from me. Never taking my eyes off the men, I tucked the envelope in my bra and then smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you, boys. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off," I said, springing up onto the dumpster and grabbing the rungs on the fire escape ladder. I climbed up the ladder and heard one of them faintly say, "Do svidaniya, kot!"

The night was oddly calm, which was bizarre for NYC. Car horns and sirens could still be heard, but it was somehow different. The air seemed still, electrically charged, as if waiting for something to happen.

The moonlight lit the way for me as I bounded over buildings and ran over rooftops. I happened to catch a glimpse of my reflection on one of the windows as I passed. My white blonde hair glowed in the night, trailing behind me majestically. I was so fascinated with the way it moved that I didn't immediately notice the green smoke wafting through the air.

"What the hell?" I whispered. I crept over to the edge of the building I was standing on and looked down. People below were looking around in curiosity as well. Just as I was about to jump to the next building, a painful sensation began to spread throughout my body.

I gasped as the smoke burned through my suit and into my flesh. The veins beneath my skin flashed green and a shock of white-hot pain jolted my heart. I fell to my knees and tried to claw at my chest in an attempt to remove the painful stimulus. The burning turned to excruciating pain and I began to whimper. I was on all fours then, biting back screams, when I noticed the skin on my hands changing from pale white to a more reptilian texture. My entire body seemed to be bubbling from the strange smoke.

It took every ounce of strength I had to stand up and stagger forward a few steps only to fall to my hands and knees again as my head exploded in iron hot pain. I heard someone screaming a great distance away and she seemed to be in agony. Her screams were raw and real and it scared me to realize that those screams were my own. My skull stretched and my tongue poked out past my lips and chin, forked at the end. I brought my hands up to my face and scrambled to a puddle of water and shuddered at my appearance; I looked like a lizard. My eyes were glowing yellow, with narrow slits for pupils. My skin was green and scaled. I let out a blood-curdling scream sounded more like a roar.

I could hear more people screaming as a hulking figure came behind me, the reflection muddled in the puddle. The giant lizard from the newspaper towered over me and tilted its head. My screams stopped, terrified at what this creature might do to me. I felt one of its claws grasp me and bring me close to its face. Its breath was rancid and I gagged. I could hear it cough out what I could only assume to be a chuckle and then it ran its long tongue up the side of my face.

My eyes rolled back into my head and I struggled against the beast, screaming at it to release me. It was happy to oblige and it threw me off the side of the building. Whatever was released into the air made me strong enough to survive the fall from the ten-story building, but I could feel bones crack as they made contact with the pavement.

The next several minutes, or hours, were a blur of screams, sirens and loud crashes. I went in and out of consciousness and wasn't even sure how much time had passed since I had fallen. Some time later, I felt soothing raindrops on my skin. I opened my eyes and saw little flakes of what looked like snow falling from the Oscorp building. My skin was returning to normal and I felt my face shrink back to its natural shape. I tried to sit up but was stopped by searing pain in my left side. I gasped for breath whilst clutching my ribs. It seemed that all of the bones on the left half of my body were broken, fractured or shattered. I couldn't tell. It took everything I had to remain awake until help arrived.

I could hear the sirens get nearer and nearer and tried to call out for them, but I could not make any noise beyond a hoarse gasp. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what looked like a paramedic begin to approach me and I embraced the sweet darkness as it enveloped my body.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, guys! So, while I was trying to get inspired to work on my other fics, I was attacked by my muse and she (he?) beat this out of me. I apologize to the readers of my LOTR fic, formerly known as Fellowship of the Ring Plus One!, it's been a hectic _five years_ and I have been so unbelievably busy and have not been able to properly focus on it as much as I would like. First, I would like to go back and redo a lot of it, seeing as my writing has changed drastically over the past five years. Then, I need to find my original story outline and adjust it, adding and subtracting things from the outline I created last year. It's going to be a lot of hard work and I encourage those readers to please bear with me! I love you guys so much. **

**This story will be different from anything I have tried to do. It will be darker. It will be steamier. I just hope that you guys will like it too. I'm not going full cannon with this fic, some details from the comics will be tweaked, as you will read in the next chapter. That is the point of fanfiction, so please NO HATE. For the past week, I have locked myself in my room and worked tirelessly on this and have destroyed an entire notebook in the process, so I am feeling pretty vulnerable at this point and would really appreciate if you could drop me a line and let me know what you think.**

 **If you have any questions, please PM me or leave a review. Your guys' feedback means the world to me and I appreciate all the love my stories have received over the past several years.**

 **Much love and many thanks,**

 **CraftyK13**


	3. Chapter 3

**~WARNING: GRAPHIC SEXUAL ASSAULT AHEAD. SKIP ITALICS IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ~**

* * *

"You have to become a monster so that you didn't become the victim of one instead" - Unknown

 _"Felicia, let's go!" said Jess. She was wearing a skin-tight leopard print dress with red stilettos and her makeup was all done up. I looked down at my Empire State University crewneck and jeans and sighed._

 _"Fine, fine, I'm ready," I said, locking the door behind us. We walked across campus from the freshman dorms to one of the frat houses; sigma phi delta or some shit. Jess shivered in her strapless dress, wrapping her arms around her thin body._

 _"Now remember, it's beer before liquor-," she started saying._

 _"Never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Yeah, I know, Jess," I finished. She was always so worried about me drinking, but she needn't be. I found out my alcohol limits before I turned fifteen._

 _We arrived at the house and found a long line of people waiting outside. Thumping music could be heard from the end of the driveway and people staggered out of the house, laughing and singing. Jess walked up the driveway, past all the people in line and went up to the bouncer, who was just one of the frat guys._

 _"We're Kyle Mormont's guests," she said._

 _"What's the password?" the bouncer asked. Jess giggled and whispered in his ear. A grin spread across his face and he looked at Jess like a piece of meat. "You two may enter. Have fun, ladies," he said, smirking. Wristbands of different colors were laid out in a neat array on a table. Another frat boy greeted us._

 _"Blue is for 'single', red is for 'taken', orange is for 'it's negotiable', pink is for 'I want to hook up', and green is for 'just want to talk'. Pick one, please," he instructed. Jess picked up a pink wristband and winked at the frat boy. I picked a blue one and walked with Jess into the party._

 _People were dancing, holding their red cups in the air as if saluting to some invisible god. There was a bar in the corner where two more frat guys were bartending. Jess grabbed my hand and dragged me over._

 _"We'd like two shots of vodka, each," she said breathily. The boys set out four shot glasses and filled them with the clear liquid. Jess picked one up for her and handed one to me. "Here's to our first frat party. May we never remember it!" she cried, quickly swallowing the vodka. I tipped my glass back and did the same. My throat burned like someone had poured fire down it. I shivered in delight. We drank our last shot and headed to the dance floor._

 _Jess pulled me against her so that I was grinding on her to the music. Not one minute later, two guys walked up and asked us to dance. Jess went with the tall blonde, which left me with the tall brunette._

 _He looked like the stereotypical frat guy; broad shoulders, polo shirt, deep tan, and a 'devil may care' grin. I noticed he was wearing a blue wristband too._

 _"I'm Matt," he said, extending a hand for me to shake._

 _"Felicia," I said, shaking his hand._

 _"Let's dance!" he yelled, over the loud music. Matt grabbed my hand and pulled my back against his front. We danced together for several songs and I could begin to feel his erection against my back. After the last song finished, I excused myself to go get some water. Matt came with me and offered to get us some. I smiled in appreciation and waited patiently, leaning against the kitchen counter. I happened to see Jess locking lips with her blonde frat boy. I shook my head._

 _"Sorry that took so long, there was some drunk guy puking at the bar, so I had to go to the bathroom to fill our cups," he said, handing me one. I greedily drank the water, relishing the cold._

 _"Is there somewhere I can put my sweatshirt? It's really hot in here," I said, leaning up to his ear so I wouldn't have to yell._

 _"Yeah, upstairs. Follow me." Matt led me up the stairs, passing two drunken couples on the way. He rounded the corner and opened a door to a bedroom where everyone else's coats were set out on the bed. I tugged off my sweatshirt and draped it over the headboard so it wouldn't get lost amongst the other clothes. We went back downstairs and I felt so much better in my tank top. Matt and I danced for a couple songs when I started to feel the vodka hit me._

 _My vision swam and I latched onto Matt's arm to keep myself from falling._

 _"Whoa, you ok?" he asked, concern written on his face._

 _"Yeah, I just need some fresh air." My words were slurred together. This had never happened to me before. I only took two shots…_

 _"C'mon, let's go outside, get you some air," said Matt, holding onto me so I wouldn't fall. His arm was wrapped around me comfortingly as we made our way out the front door, making our way past the people and to the side of the house. It was significantly quieter out here and it made my head throb less. I leaned up against the wall and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths._

 _"Thanks, Matt," I mumbled._

 _"It's no problem, are you sure you're ok?" he asked when I almost fell over. My breathing was not slowing down, but speeding up. I felt my cheeks get warmer when I realized how close he was to me. My eyes fluttered open and found his baby blues. His pupils were dilated, a sure sign of arousal. I grabbed his biceps and pulled him closer to me, our chests touching._

 _"I want you to kiss me," I breathed. Matt responded by touching his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt his hands on my waist. The kiss was gentle and sweet. It was perfect. However, perfect things never last._

 _His hands, once comforting, began wandering down to my ass and squeezed roughly. His mouth began to violently attack mine. I was confused by this change of pace. I broke away and tried to talk but his lips covered mine again. My hands pushed at his chest but I was too weak to push him away. Matt held me to him in an iron grip._

 _"N-no," I gasped, breaking way from his lips._

 _"Yes," he growled, his lips going back to mine again. I bit his bottom lip and he jerked away from me. "Oh, so you want it rough? Why didn't you just say?" He picked me up and shoved me against the side of the house. My head smacked against the wall, making me see stars. I weakly pushed against him again, another attempt at escaping. Matt's lips moved to my neck, biting and sucking._

 _"No," I whispered. "Stop, please." Matt didn't acknowledge me. I brought my arm up in a sluggish movement and tried to push his face away from me._

 _"What the hell?" he spat. "Didn't you just say that you wanted me to kiss you?"_

 _"I want to leave," I pleaded, blinking several times to keep my vision clear. Matt shook his head._

 _"No. We are going to finish what you started," he said, pulling down the straps of my tank top. I struggled against him._

 _"No!" I cried, my voice getting louder. I made a move to scream but Matt's hand covered my mouth._

 _"No, you are not fucking screaming. You wanted this. You want this. I know you do." I bit his hand and he dropped me, swearing loudly. I started to crawl away from him, as my legs didn't seem to be working. Matt grabbed a handful of my platinum hair and yanked me up. I cried out, tears pricking my eyes._

 _"Please, you're hurting me," I moaned, tears rolling down my cheeks. Matt rolled me over and hovered over me. His hands wandered down my body, starting to unbutton my jeans. "No, please, stop." I began sobbing when I felt the absence of my jeans. Matt's hand cupped my panties and began to tug those off too when I heard someone shout._

 _Matt was suddenly gone and I heard a scuffle off to my right. I was too relieved to care that I was laying in the grass, clad in only a tank top and my underwear, tears streaming down my face. I heard more shouting and a mess of blonde hair entered my field of vision._

 _"Hey, it's gonna be ok. He's gone now, you're safe," he said. The light cast a golden glow around him, giving him the appearance of a halo. An angel had arrived to save me. "Oh, shit, here, you've got to be freezing." The angel took off his coat and helped me into it. It was warm and smelled like good cologne. "Can you walk?" I shook my head 'no'. The angel gingerly put an arm underneath my knees and around my shoulders, slowly lifting me off the ground. My head was cradled in the curve of his neck. I could feel his thumb rubbing my shoulder reassuringly. I looked up at the angel's face and he looked down at me. "I'm Ryan. I'm going to protect you. You're safe now."_

 _Too bad the angel lied._

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling. The all-too-familiar smell that accompanies a hospital burned my nose. I tried to sit up but was stopped by straps tied to my wrists and ankles. Panic began to flood my system and I heard a heart monitor beep rapidly beside me. The door opened and a nurse dressed in gray scrubs walked in, checked my chart and walked out without so much as one look at me. I was bewildered.

"What the hell?" I whispered, looking around me. The room didn't look like an ordinary hospital room. The walls were painted white to match the white floor and white furniture. The only source of light in the room was the window, which had white bars over it. I peered down at myself. I was wearing light pink scrubs and had an IV sticking out of my hand. Very carefully, I started to maneuver my other hand out of the strap. Luckily, I had been sweating earlier due to my nightmare and my hand slipped right out. I pulled the IV out of my hand and unlocked the strap.

After undoing the straps around my ankles, I crawled out of the bed and went to the window. The room overlooked a pentagonal courtyard where I saw people wearing blue or pink scrubs milling around. Experimentally, I tugged on the bars covering the window. They didn't budge. I knew that I had to stay calm or I would have gone into a panic attack, which would have gotten me nowhere. I took calming breaths and tried to think of a way out when the door behind me opened.

"Ah, Felicia, I vas vondering ven you vould vake up," a heavily German accented voice said. I whipped around and saw a short man with messy hair and big glasses enter the room. He was wearing an expensive suit and a lab coat. "How are you?"

"Where am I?" I asked, taking a step back from him.

"You are in ze Ravencroft Institute," the man replied. "I am Doctor Kafka."

"Why am I here?"

"You might vant to sit down for zis, Felicia," said Kafka. I stayed stock-still. My heart started to go into overdrive.

"I'd rather stand, thanks."

"Suit yourself." He sat down on the bed and folded his hands together. "After ze attack on ze city by Doctor Connors, about tventy people suffered from his serum. Ze lizard von, ya?" I nodded. "Even zough Spider Man saved ze city and counteracted ze effects of ze serum, some vere long-lasting."

"What effects?" I interjected, crossing my arms. I didn't like where this was going.

"Some of ze people affected suffered from psychosis- a break from reality," he explained. "You vere von of zose people." My heart began to beat even faster.

"Ok, and I'm all better, right? All healed?"

"Oh, ya, definitely. Ze procedures helped." My heart stopped.

"Procedures?" I whispered. I felt the blood drain from my face, the blood in my veins turned to ice.

"Vile you vere unconscious, I conducted some experiments. All vere successful and treated your psychosis."

"What the _fuck_ did you do to me?" I snarled, glaring at the doctor.

"Oh, nozing major. I just adjusted your body chemistry and some of your hormones to offset ze symptoms from ze serum. I vas vaiting until you voke up to see ze results." He looked quite pleased with himself. My breathing was uncontrollable. I saw red. I whirled around and punched the wall. I was expecting pain but there was nothing but a slight tingle. I looked at the wall and saw a hole the size of my fist.

"What did you do?!" I cried. Tears sprang to my eyes and I sank to the floor, covering my face.

"As I haff explained, Felicia, I adjusted your body chemistry and hormone levels. Zis balanced ze lizard serum so you vill no longer suffer from ze psychosis. As a plus, I now know you received some abnormal strength levels, but zat is all I know. I vould like to continue to my observations now zat you are fully conscious. Ve vill continue tomorrow. I vill haff a nurse escort you to ze lab and ve vill run some tests. Haff a good day, Felicia." And with that, he left the room, locking the door after him.

I sat huddled in the corner for quite some time because when I decided to get up, the sun had all but disappeared from my room, turning on the automatic lights. A tiny cat flap in my door opened and a tray of food was shoved through. Suddenly ravenous, I snatched the tray and shoveled the food into my mouth. I didn't care that it was boxed mashed potatoes or canned green beans or mystery meat. I ate all of it and put the tray back through the cat flap.

There was a small bathroom attached to my room, leading me to believe that I was in the low-security area of the hospital. I stepped inside and turned on the light. The reflection in the mirror made me choke out a scream.

My hair was no longer platinum blonde, but black as a raven's wings. It hung down to my waist, frazzled and damaged. I ran my fingers through it and my nail snagged on something. I pulled it out. It was a green scale, not unlike one you would find on a lizard. _The serum must have changed my hair color; it's the only explanation._

Next, I turned my attention towards my complexion. It was yellowed and sallow; my cheeks were hollowed out and I looked skeletal. How long had I been there? Days? Weeks? Months? Before the attack on the city, I was all soft curves and full cheeks. Now, I was angular and bony.

No longer wishing to see my hideous face, I rid myself of the pink scrubs and stepped into the shower stall. The only water temperatures were freezing or fire. I chose the cold and quickly washed myself, feeling better than I had since I had woken up in hell.

There was no towel, so I redressed in the pink scrubs and tried to dry my hair as best as I could with the sheets. I returned to the bathroom to brush my teeth and was revolted by my reflection. My black hair made me look like some sort of demon. The sight of it repulsed me. Sudden anger flooded my system and I couldn't control the fist that shot out and broke the mirror. It shattered and shards of the mirror fell to the floor. My knuckles bled but I didn't care. I just didn't want to see that _thing_ in the mirror anymore.

I sat in the bed, staring blankly ahead of me, wishing, hoping, praying, that this was all a dream. But, knowing my luck, I was stuck in the horror more commonly known as reality.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! So, as you've all read, this story is not 100% cannon where Felicia is involved. Yes, I do know that her hair turns platinum instead of black. Yes, I do know that she ends up in Beloit and not Ravencroft. However, this is my story and it all will come together, I promise. I just hope you all stick around to find out(:**

 **Much love,**

 **CraftyK13**


End file.
